This charming little hotel is only a 10 -15 minute walk north along the coast from the more crowded and very noisy in high season beach resort of Vina del Mar. Our room (#5) hovered over the ocean and a spacious balcony allowed us a private, close-up view of gorgeous sunsets, complete with flocks of albatrosses wheeling overhead. While on the main coastal road, it's a suprisingly peaceful spot with low key, profesional staff, who are always available to help but not at all pushy. We had been traveling for quite a while and were very surprised when the maid offered to take our laundry to the local tintoreria and later presented us with a very reasonable bill. As for location, the local micros (buses) stop right outside the hotel, giving you easy quick, easy access to downtown Vina and nearby Valparaiso. Take the bus the other way and you head up the coast through small seaside villages as far as Con Con, which bills itself as the gastronomical capital of Chile. A host of waterfront restaurants offer some of the freshest, most delicious seafood you have ever tasted. If you go into Valparaiso, don't miss Pablo Nerudas house, a trip up a couple of old ascensors and lunch on the patio at Cafe Turri at the top on the Constitucion ascensor. Unforgettable views of valparaiso and the Vina coast. if you have the chasnce try the local chilean casserole speciality :Pastel de Choclo.

This place is really all about the location. The staff is nice and speak English well, the food in the restaurant is fantastic (just finished dinner there 10 minute ago), but nothing quite compares to the Ocean View rooms. I have never stayed anywhere where I am perched over the water, watching the waves crash around me, can watch the sunset over the coast, and watching the sparkling lights of a nearby city at night... all for $140 high season, walkup rate. They decor is dated, but they are remodeling, so that should improve. All in all, a really exceptional value for this part of Chile. Yes, you will need a car. (we rented a motorcycle in Santiago).

This hotel is on the ocean about a 40 minute walk from downtown Vina Del Mar. Price of a taxi to the downtown is $20 American, and a bus is roughly 50 cents. The view is wonderful, but the staff is impersonal and not very helpful. For instance, I inquired as to the hours of the Casino and was told by the owner that it was open 24 hours every day. Not so! Further, the staff did not assist in information about the town or did the staff bother to find out - to help a tourist. More, the breakfast was awful! Fruit costs extra, whereas, all the other hotels (in and out of Santiago) charge nothing more for fruit, in fact the breakfast options are plentiful. Not true of Hotel Oceanic. The price was $146/per night (not cheap). We left after two nights and went downtown to the Hotel Monterillo, which was like night and day. The dinner at Hotel Oceanic was great! Though somewhat pricey, it was delicious; however, the waiters and other staff all seem to be walking on eggshells...little spontaneity and a stilted atmosphere. Very odd indeed.